Detroit Mercy Law Clinic to mark milestone anniversary Thursday
Located at 585 Larned Street, not far from the Riverfront campus of Detroit Mercy Law, the George J. Asher Law Clinic Center serves as the headquarters of the school’s renowned clinical program.
By Tom Kirvan
Legal News
On Thursday, June 12, the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law will celebrate a “landmark moment” in its history, a grand occasion that has been six decades in the making.
The milestone event – the 60th anniversary of the Clinical Program at the downtown law school – will feature a host of dignitaries that includes the likes of distinguished alums Eugene Gargaro Jr. (‘67), Justice Maura Corrigan (‘73), Judge Michael Talbot (‘71), and attorney Ven Johnson (‘86).
The celebration will take place from 5-7 p.m. in the Detroit Mercy Law Atrium at 651 E. Jefferson Avenue, a half-block from the 585 Larned Street home of the George J. Asher Law Clinic Center, a converted firehouse built in 1910.
“For six decades, our clinics have provided essential legal services to underserved communities while offering our students unmatched opportunities for hands-on learning,” said Nicholas Schroeck, dean and professor of law at Detroit Mercy Law. “Whether representing veterans, immigrants, tenants, or low-income clients in need of legal advocacy, our students are living our Jesuit and Mercy values – upholding justice, promoting dignity, and standing in solidarity with those on the margins.”
An environmental law expert, Schroeck was appointed dean of the law school in January after serving in an interim role for seven months following the departure of Jefferson Exum in the spring of 2024. He joined the faculty in 2018 and rose to role of associate dean for experiential education while heading the school’s clinical program and externship program.
Schroeck, who will serve as host of the anniversary celebration, said the clinic program can “provide these transformational learning experiences for our students and continue to serve the people of Detroit and beyond with compassion and expertise.”
The clinical program was founded initially as the Urban Law Clinic in 1965 through $242,000 in seed money from the Office of Economic Opportunity. It has grown to include 14 clinics for upper-level students, including in the areas of criminal law, veterans’ law, environmental law, family law, housing law, and immigration law.
Since its founding, the program has continued to flourish, earning a number of honors including the ABA Louis M. Brown Award for Legal Access with Meritorious Recognition in 2012, and the ABA Law Student Division’s Judy M. Weightman Memorial Public Interest Award in 2006. Most recently, the Federal Pro Se Legal Assistance Clinic received The Ilene and Michael Shaw Public Service Award, an honor bestowed by Federal Bar Association chapters nationwide.
The Detroit Mercy Law clinical program is housed in the George J. Asher Law Clinic Center, a former Detroit firehouse that was renovated and converted for student use due largely to a gift from Detroit Mercy law alumnus Anthony Asher, who made the contribution in memory of his brother, George J. Asher.
In a February 2012 story appearing in Hour Magazine, the reasons brother posthumously honored brother became abundantly clear.
“As the eldest child of Syrian Catholic immigrants in Detroit, George Asher became head of a large household at age 16 when both of his parents died,” according to the Hour Magazine article. “Anthony, then 10 years old, looked to George as his surrogate father, and he was humbled by the sacrifices that George made for him and their siblings.
“George Asher had to quit high school in order to support his family,” the story continued. “He earned his General Education Development degree (G.E.D.) and became a highly successful non-lawyer union negotiator for a local law firm. At the urging of the attorneys at the firm, he . . . began law school at the University of Detroit in the evening program. George died tragically in 1963 as a result of complications from hemophilia, while Anthony was a first-year law student and George was just months shy of graduating from the School of Law. Anthony continued his studies with George’s inspiration spurring him towards success. He went on to become the leader of one of metro-Detroit’s premier law firms.”
The renovation of the two-story facility, which provides more than 6,000 square feet of space for the law school’s clinical program, also received significant financial support from the heirs of Walter Buhl Ford III and the McGregor Fund along with other generous donors, according to Julie Hein, director of Development for Detroit Mercy Law.
Thursday’s anniversary celebration will feature a host of notable speakers, including former Clinic Director John Urso, who will talk about the early days of the program that served a ground-breaking role for urban law schools around the nation.
Gene Gargaro, who earned his law degree from the University of Detroit in 1967, also will be among the keynote speakers. The former vice president of Masco Corp., Gargaro served as chair of the Board of the Detroit Institute of Arts from 2003-23, and played a pivotal role in helping forge the Grand Bargain during the Detroit bankruptcy proceedings. He currently is president of the Richard and Jane Manoogian Foundation.
He will be joined in the spotlight Thursday by Maura Corrigan, a member of the 1973 graduating class at the law school. A former chief assistant U.S. Attorney in Detroit, Corrigan served 12 years as a Michigan Supreme Court justice, including two terms as chief justice. She left the court in 2010 to serve as director of the Michigan Health and Human Services agency, and has been widely praised for her work in improving the lot of children in the state’s foster care system.
Retired Judge Michael Talbot, a member of the 1971 graduating class at the law school, also is among the list of featured speakers. A former judge on the Wayne County Circuit Court, Talbot served for 20 years on the Michigan Court of Appeals, including three years as chief judge. During his time on the bench, Judge Talbot was recognized for his commitment to guarantee victims a place in court and a voice at sentencing. He currently is Of Counsel at Bodman Law.
Prominent Detroit attorney Ven Johnson, a member of the 1986 graduating class, also will take a turn at the podium on Thursday, paying tribute to the Asher Family for its leadership role in the 2011 renovation project. Johnson is expected to make special mention of his 1986 classmate Michael Asher, the son of Anthony Asher, as well as 1988 law school grad Jacqueline Asher Kelly, Michael’s sister. A past president of the Michigan Association of Justice, Johnson is the founder of Ven Johnson Law and has been active as a student and as an attorney in the law school’s chapter of the American Inns of Court.
Legal News
On Thursday, June 12, the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law will celebrate a “landmark moment” in its history, a grand occasion that has been six decades in the making.
The milestone event – the 60th anniversary of the Clinical Program at the downtown law school – will feature a host of dignitaries that includes the likes of distinguished alums Eugene Gargaro Jr. (‘67), Justice Maura Corrigan (‘73), Judge Michael Talbot (‘71), and attorney Ven Johnson (‘86).
The celebration will take place from 5-7 p.m. in the Detroit Mercy Law Atrium at 651 E. Jefferson Avenue, a half-block from the 585 Larned Street home of the George J. Asher Law Clinic Center, a converted firehouse built in 1910.
“For six decades, our clinics have provided essential legal services to underserved communities while offering our students unmatched opportunities for hands-on learning,” said Nicholas Schroeck, dean and professor of law at Detroit Mercy Law. “Whether representing veterans, immigrants, tenants, or low-income clients in need of legal advocacy, our students are living our Jesuit and Mercy values – upholding justice, promoting dignity, and standing in solidarity with those on the margins.”
An environmental law expert, Schroeck was appointed dean of the law school in January after serving in an interim role for seven months following the departure of Jefferson Exum in the spring of 2024. He joined the faculty in 2018 and rose to role of associate dean for experiential education while heading the school’s clinical program and externship program.
Schroeck, who will serve as host of the anniversary celebration, said the clinic program can “provide these transformational learning experiences for our students and continue to serve the people of Detroit and beyond with compassion and expertise.”
The clinical program was founded initially as the Urban Law Clinic in 1965 through $242,000 in seed money from the Office of Economic Opportunity. It has grown to include 14 clinics for upper-level students, including in the areas of criminal law, veterans’ law, environmental law, family law, housing law, and immigration law.
Since its founding, the program has continued to flourish, earning a number of honors including the ABA Louis M. Brown Award for Legal Access with Meritorious Recognition in 2012, and the ABA Law Student Division’s Judy M. Weightman Memorial Public Interest Award in 2006. Most recently, the Federal Pro Se Legal Assistance Clinic received The Ilene and Michael Shaw Public Service Award, an honor bestowed by Federal Bar Association chapters nationwide.
The Detroit Mercy Law clinical program is housed in the George J. Asher Law Clinic Center, a former Detroit firehouse that was renovated and converted for student use due largely to a gift from Detroit Mercy law alumnus Anthony Asher, who made the contribution in memory of his brother, George J. Asher.
In a February 2012 story appearing in Hour Magazine, the reasons brother posthumously honored brother became abundantly clear.
“As the eldest child of Syrian Catholic immigrants in Detroit, George Asher became head of a large household at age 16 when both of his parents died,” according to the Hour Magazine article. “Anthony, then 10 years old, looked to George as his surrogate father, and he was humbled by the sacrifices that George made for him and their siblings.
“George Asher had to quit high school in order to support his family,” the story continued. “He earned his General Education Development degree (G.E.D.) and became a highly successful non-lawyer union negotiator for a local law firm. At the urging of the attorneys at the firm, he . . . began law school at the University of Detroit in the evening program. George died tragically in 1963 as a result of complications from hemophilia, while Anthony was a first-year law student and George was just months shy of graduating from the School of Law. Anthony continued his studies with George’s inspiration spurring him towards success. He went on to become the leader of one of metro-Detroit’s premier law firms.”
The renovation of the two-story facility, which provides more than 6,000 square feet of space for the law school’s clinical program, also received significant financial support from the heirs of Walter Buhl Ford III and the McGregor Fund along with other generous donors, according to Julie Hein, director of Development for Detroit Mercy Law.
Thursday’s anniversary celebration will feature a host of notable speakers, including former Clinic Director John Urso, who will talk about the early days of the program that served a ground-breaking role for urban law schools around the nation.
Gene Gargaro, who earned his law degree from the University of Detroit in 1967, also will be among the keynote speakers. The former vice president of Masco Corp., Gargaro served as chair of the Board of the Detroit Institute of Arts from 2003-23, and played a pivotal role in helping forge the Grand Bargain during the Detroit bankruptcy proceedings. He currently is president of the Richard and Jane Manoogian Foundation.
He will be joined in the spotlight Thursday by Maura Corrigan, a member of the 1973 graduating class at the law school. A former chief assistant U.S. Attorney in Detroit, Corrigan served 12 years as a Michigan Supreme Court justice, including two terms as chief justice. She left the court in 2010 to serve as director of the Michigan Health and Human Services agency, and has been widely praised for her work in improving the lot of children in the state’s foster care system.
Retired Judge Michael Talbot, a member of the 1971 graduating class at the law school, also is among the list of featured speakers. A former judge on the Wayne County Circuit Court, Talbot served for 20 years on the Michigan Court of Appeals, including three years as chief judge. During his time on the bench, Judge Talbot was recognized for his commitment to guarantee victims a place in court and a voice at sentencing. He currently is Of Counsel at Bodman Law.
Prominent Detroit attorney Ven Johnson, a member of the 1986 graduating class, also will take a turn at the podium on Thursday, paying tribute to the Asher Family for its leadership role in the 2011 renovation project. Johnson is expected to make special mention of his 1986 classmate Michael Asher, the son of Anthony Asher, as well as 1988 law school grad Jacqueline Asher Kelly, Michael’s sister. A past president of the Michigan Association of Justice, Johnson is the founder of Ven Johnson Law and has been active as a student and as an attorney in the law school’s chapter of the American Inns of Court.
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